Shortage of nuclear engineers expected in UK

The government has been cautioned that retired engineers may have to be called back into service to ensure that the building of the new generation of nuclear power generation plants goes according to schedule.

Professional engineers and technicians are in short supply and this could derail the plans to construct new nuclear reactors throughout the country and avert a possible power supply crisis.

In the course of the next decade the nuclear power generation sector will need to hire between five thousand nine hundred to nine thousand graduates and two thousand seven hundred to four thousand five hundred technicians.

The President of the British Nuclear Energy Society, John Earp, anticipates that retired nuclear engineers will have to be called back into service to assist in the planning, training and development of the latest nuclear power generation plants. Mr. Earp added that they would only work for a short time since it was a short-term measure.

At a London conference the short supply of nuclear engineers will be a major concern besides financing, possible locations and the waste storage and disposal.

The Director of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which is one of the bodies organising the conference, Colin Brown, called for urgent action on the matter of shortage of manpower.

Speakers at the London conference which will be held for two days will include the Business Secretary, John Hutton and the Chief Executive Officer of British Energy, Bill Coley. British Energy is currently at a critical juncture and the government is using its interest in the firm in attracting new investment or partnership so that a strong British role in the coming generation of new nuclear reactors is maintained.

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